3 Oothecae to Identify

[ScienceGirl]

Hello!

I've set up my three ootheca's to hatch, but I'm not sure about the species... I know that oothecas can be a major help in identifying a species, so I'm posting pictures with the hope that some of you may recognize them. The oothecas are labeled as Ootheca 1, Ootheca 2, and Ootheca 3, in order of accumulation.

You can view them closer in my gallery.

Thank you all!

-ScienceGirl

Oothecas 1 and 2

These were found in my backyard in Western Oregon, in a town about 45 minutes from Portland.

They are a bit more than 1/2" tall, I think, and are 1" long. They appear to be the same species.

These are set up seperately in marked paper bags set outside.

(1 is on the top, 2 is on the bottom of the image)


Ootheca 1

Seems to have some holes in it. I watched the mother mantid lay this one.

(Today I found one mantid nymph connected to it... The nymph was all messed up. It's back was hunched and it's appendages were stuck together. After watching it hobble and inspecting it, I ended it's life. It wouldn't have lived more than a day. No other nymphs were seen.)



Ootheca 2


Ootheca 3

Oootheca 3 was purchased from my local garden store yesterday.

It is set up in a net cage, set outside.

This one looks Chinese to me.

Dimensions: 1 1/2" long, about 1" high. One end is flat, the other is sloped.

 

[ScienceGirl]

You can view them closer in my gallery.

 

[brancsikia339]

1 & 2: mantis religiosa

3: tenodera sinensis

 

[aNisip]

Yup 1 &2 look religiosa while 3 is tenodera aridifolia sinensis....however , it doesn't really matter, but u pinned the t sinenis ooth upside down...

Hope u get good results from allof them! ...and mist the containers (enclosures) u have them in every morning...

All the best,

Andrew

 

[ScienceGirl]

Yup 1 &2 look religiosa while 3 is tenodera aridifolia sinensis....however , it doesn't really matter, but u pinned the t sinenis ooth upside down...

Hope u get good results from allof them! ...and mist the containers (enclosures) u have them in every morning...

All the best,

Andrew

I DID!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? :blink: And I was trying so hard to do everything right! Are you sure? The flat part is down, and the pointed part is up. I was looking at the little flaps/ridges on the ootheca and made sure they were pointing down. Are the ridges supposed to point upwards instead?

And they are sitting outside, in their natural habitat. Should I still mist them every morning? Or will natural humidity be enough?

It will be easy enough to rehang it. If you're sure, I'll do it tomorrow. And thank you!

 

[Rick]

1 & 2: mantis religiosa

3: tenodera sinensis

Agree.

The Chinese is not upside down.

 

[ScienceGirl]

Agree.

The Chinese is not upside down.

Thank you!

And about the misting... AndrewNisip suggested misting every morning. The two "mantis religiosa" oothecas are attatched to the inner wall of seperate paper grocery bags, folded over at the top. The tenodera sinensis ootheca is in the net cage it is shown in. (This cage was sold as a butterfly cage. ) It is about 3' high and more than 1' across, but I can give precise measurements later. They are all outside in the sun (as suggested by the care label on the chinese ooth I bought) but under an overhang so they won't get wet when it rains. This is the native area for all of the ooths. Do you think they should still be misted every morning?

 

[Rick]

Thank you!

And about the misting... AndrewNisip suggested misting every morning. The two "mantis religiosa" oothecas are attatched to the inner wall of seperate paper grocery bags, folded over at the top. The tenodera sinensis ootheca is in the net cage it is shown in. (This cage was sold as a butterfly cage. ) It is about 3' high and more than 1' across, but I can give precise measurements later. They are all outside in the sun (as suggested by the care label on the chinese ooth I bought) but under an overhang so they won't get wet when it rains. This is the native area for all of the ooths. Do you think they should still be misted every morning?

I wouldn't have the ooths in bags.

Are you planning on just releasing them when they hatch? If so you can just attach the ooths to plants in your garden and let them disperse on their own. If they're outside and exposed to the air you don't need to mist them. No reason to hide them from rain either.

And not to be picky, but neither of them are native.

 

[ScienceGirl]

I wouldn't have the ooths in bags.

Are you planning on just releasing them when they hatch? If so you can just attach the ooths to plants in your garden and let them disperse on their own. If they're outside and exposed to the air you don't need to mist them. No reason to hide them from rain either.

And not to be picky, but neither of them are native.

I'd like to keep some of them, but I'm going to release the rest.

Ootheca 1 and 2 were layed by wild females in our yard. It is said that they live in the Pacific NW. Doesn't this make them native?

 

[aNisip]

Agree.

The Chinese is not upside down.

I DID!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? :blink: And I was trying so hard to do everything right! Are you sure? The flat part is down, and the pointed part is up. I was looking at the little flaps/ridges on the ootheca and made sure they were pointing down. Are the ridges supposed to point upwards instead?

And they are sitting outside, in their natural habitat. Should I still mist them every morning? Or will natural humidity be enough?

It will be easy enough to rehang it. If you're sure, I'll do it tomorrow. And thank you!

ive had about 20 adult female Tenodera Aridifolia Sinensis lay ooths...and ALL have laid there ooths with the pointing side facing earth and the flat side facing the sky...but when i googled it...many faced the other way...so i dont know what to tell you

 

[Rick]

ive had about 20 adult female Tenodera Aridifolia Sinensis lay ooths...and ALL have laid there ooths with the pointing side facing earth and the flat side facing the sky...but when i googled it...many faced the other way...so i dont know what to tell you

I'm not sure what you're looking at then. I've been doing this for a long time and have seen literally thousands of those in the wild. She has it the correct way. It is on a vertical surface and may benefit from being tilted down a bit but it isn't upside down or anything.

ScienceGirl, think of the common names of those two species for a minute. They are naturalized, but are not native to the U.S.

 

[Ntsees]

I'd like to keep some of them, but I'm going to release the rest.

Ootheca 1 and 2 were layed by wild females in our yard. It is said that they live in the Pacific NW. Doesn't this make them native?

European mantids are not native in the U.S. but have become naturalized. I don't know what the temperature is like in the Pacific NW or the duration of spring and summer, but, considering that this is June, I would suspect both ooths 1 and 2 may have hatched by now. The nymph you saw was probably a stray that got stuck from the ooth. If the ooths have not hatched yet, and are soon to hatch, then I'm wondering is the season will be long enough to reach adult stage, mate, and lay ooths. I'm just speculating, because here in Central California, the first wild European adults are due to appear at the end of this month and early July.

 

[ScienceGirl]

I'm not sure what you're looking at then. I've been doing this for a long time and have seen literally thousands of those in the wild. She has it the correct way. It is on a vertical surface and may benefit from being tilted down a bit but it isn't upside down or anything.

ScienceGirl, think of the common names of those two species for a minute. They are naturalized, but are not native to the U.S.

Ohh, okay. Gotcha. I was wondering about the names, and until this winter when I started looking at buying some online, I thought that there was only one species - the ones that I had seen every summer. Yep. I know better now. I had been curious as to why I never saw those flower mantids on my rosebushes.

ive had about 20 adult female Tenodera Aridifolia Sinensis lay ooths...and ALL have laid there ooths with the pointing side facing earth and the flat side facing the sky...but when i googled it...many faced the other way...so i dont know what to tell you

Hmmmmm... So, do you guys think that I should rehang it the opposite way?

European mantids are not native in the U.S. but have become naturalized. I don't know what the temperature is like in the Pacific NW or the duration of spring and summer, but, considering that this is June, I would suspect both ooths 1 and 2 may have hatched by now. The nymph you saw was probably a stray that got stuck from the ooth. If the ooths have not hatched yet, and are soon to hatch, then I'm wondering is the season will be long enough to reach adult stage, mate, and lay ooths. I'm just speculating, because here in Central California, the first wild European adults are due to appear at the end of this month and early July.

The oothecas have been in house for a while. There weren't any other nymphs - we would have noticed them. That guy was the only one...

 

[aNisip]

Keep it the way it is lol...no matter how u hang it, nymphs come out and hang from gravity...it doesn't really matter

All the best with the hatches!

-Andrew

 

[ScienceGirl]

Keep it the way it is lol...no matter how u hang it, nymphs come out and hang from gravity...it doesn't really matter

All the best with the hatches!

-Andrew

Thank you!

I'm going to candle the tenodera aridifolia sinensis oothecas tonight. I'll let you guys know if I see anything. If they don't hatch by next Sunday, it's the rolling pin for them.

JK. :wub: I'd probably cut the end and look at the eggs. I'll report my results, and if all else fails, the ootheca will be nestled in their natural cradle of tree bows.

 

[ScienceGirl]

Okay, candled them. Here are my observations.

Ootheca 1: Couldn't detect any black eyes. I could see through the material on the outside of the ootheca, but there is a dark gray/black oval within. The egg chamber, I'm guessing.

Ootheca 2: Couldn't detect any black eyes. Saw the same darkness within as in ootheca 1. HOWEVER, I think that I saw little nymph parts in there... Or shadows of it, at least. Hoping that I was correct.

 

[ScienceGirl]

European mantids are not native in the U.S. but have become naturalized. I don't know what the temperature is like in the Pacific NW or the duration of spring and summer, but, considering that this is June, I would suspect both ooths 1 and 2 may have hatched by now. The nymph you saw was probably a stray that got stuck from the ooth. If the ooths have not hatched yet, and are soon to hatch, then I'm wondering is the season will be long enough to reach adult stage, mate, and lay ooths. I'm just speculating, because here in Central California, the first wild European adults are due to appear at the end of this month and early July.

Hmmm. Another thought... We had a warm period this last fall for about a week. This was before I removed the ootheca (it was on a wooden pole we use for beans to climb. We had to use a knife and delicately cut off a bit of the wood to remove it.) The weather was in the 80's, if I remember correctly. When I removed it, I noticed the holes that you can see in the picture. I wasn't sure if birds or something else made them. I wonder if some hatched then?

 

[aNisip]

Hmmm. Another thought... We had a warm period this last fall for about a week. This was before I removed the ootheca (it was on a wooden pole we use for beans to climb. We had to use a knife and delicately cut off a bit of the wood to remove it.) The weather was in the 80's, if I remember correctly. When I removed it, I noticed the holes that you can see in the picture. I wasn't sure if birds or something else made them. I wonder if some hatched then?

It would have had to have been in the 80's for at least two-three weeks for them to hatch...most likely the chickadees made the holes...

All the best,

Andrew

 

[Rick]

No you don't need to rehang that one ooth. It is perfectly fine.